acaba

Meaning

Used to add a meaning of curiosity, indecision or doubt, and sometimes courtesy. Roughly equivalent to “I wonder (if/whether)”, “Would you please...”, “May I...”, "by any chance".

Concepts

do

I wonder

Translations

est-ce que

aya

gelo

ma

ob

etwa

not translated

-ne

-nam

translated by inversion

not translated

tun

Wohl

👍

wohl

est-il possible

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈɑ.d͡ʒɑ.bɑː/

Etymology

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish: عجبا

In summary

From Ottoman Turkish عجبا (ʿacaba), from Arabic عَجَبًا (ʕajaban), adverbial accusative of عَجَب (ʕajab, “astonishment, wonder, amazement”).

Sentences

Acaba hakikaten böyle miydi?

Was it really like this?

Ne yapsak acaba ?

What should we do?

Acaba beni birine mi benzetti, dedim.

I wondered if he likened me to someone.